In the area of lawn and playing field maintenance, grass striping is a common practice, generally used in combination with cutting grass, whereby the grass on a lawn or field is bent in a particular direction causing light to be reflected therefrom in order to achieve an aesthetically pleasing appearance.
Typically, grass striping is accomplished through the use of rollers. Such rollers are fixedly attached on a commercial lawn mower having front and rear tires and a mower deck having a mower blade rotatably disposed therein. Conventionally, the rollers are disposed rearward of the mower deck and forward of the rear tires such that, after the grass is cut by the blade, the remaining grass is immediately bent in a particular direction. After the blade cuts the grass, the roller bends the grass in the same direction that the roller is moving. With each pass along the lawn or field, the roller stripes the grass in a band having a width equal to that of the roller. Generally, both commercial and residential mowers lack the space required to include a roller between the mower deck and the rear tires.
Various commercial and residential mowers incorporate a turning feature or a zero-turning radius, whereby, upon turning, the inner tire on the inside of the turn radius rotates backward while the outer tire on the outside of the turning radius rotates forward. Upon turning, the roller fixedly disposed between the mower deck and the rear tires is forced to travel in a direction perpendicular to its axis of rotation. As a result, the roller becomes wedged in the grass, thereby inhibiting the mower from preventing the turn.
In addition, such rollers are typically mounted to the mower in a static position above the ground in order to provide ground clearance and accommodate the contours of the lawn or field being mowed. Consequently, the rollers do not sit directly on the grass and the resultant bend imparted thereto is minimized.
Moreover, conventional rollers are made from one-piece steel rollers which are specially manufactured to the size requirements of the particular mower, thereby increasing the time and cost for manufacturing and repair which is passed on to consumers.